#RBEA18: And the winners are…

Tuesday November 13, 2018

Pictures by Daniil Lavrovski / Simon Leloup / Annika Wallis

Share

With a buzzing show in the iconic Flagey building in Brussels, the eighth edition of the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards was one for the history books. A whopping 31.884 electronic music fans casted their votes - a new record - and decided who took home the coveted laurels in 21 categories. The ever-smiling pop sensation Angèle topped a truly massive year with no less than 3 admirable first places: Artist Of The Year, Best Song (with ‘Je Veux Tes Yeux’) and Breakthrough Artist/DJ/Producer. Her brother Roméo Elvis - with Le Motel ofcourse - took the gold in Best Live Act. Another Brussels icon, Damso, triumphed in the Best Album category for his hugely popular ‘Lithopedion’. In the DJ Top 100, the first spot was reclaimed by 2manydjs after they last topped the list in 2015. Techno ambassadors Charlotte de Witte and Amelie Lens landed on the second and third place respectively. Traditionally, the stakes are high in the Club Top 30. After a countdown that felt like an eternity, Ghent’s beloved Kompass came out on top. This at the expense of Brussels’ own C12 and Fuse. The former of these two did take the first spot in the Best Breakthrough Party/Festival/Club category.

Just like in 2016, the globetrotting Lefto got rewarded for his weekly show at Studio Brussel in the Best Radio category. The house and disco lads from Vice City prevailed as Best Party, while the Ghent crew from All Eyes On Hip Hop did the same in the Best Really Big Party division. For the second time in a row, Nachtschaduw claimed the top spot as Best Nightlife photographer. Dour Festival doubled up on that feat: they took away the gold medal in the Best Festival category for a fourth time in a row, ahead of Tomorrowland and Couleur Café.

The Chase Award is reserved for the best urban act on the verge of a breakthrough. The voters decided that Blu Samu deserves her time in the spotlights, with Glints and Moka Boka following closely as second and third. After winning last year’s Best Label, Soulwax’ DEEWEE had to make peace with a runners-up position, making way for Top Notch Belgium’s very first award. Our colleagues at Vice Belgium pulled the same trick in the Best Media division. Meanwhile, Roméo Elvis’ companion Le Motel excelled in the Best Producer league.

Stromae’s music videos have won several Awards in the past - and this year, the pop star is victorious once again with the video for ‘Défiler’, made by Luc Junior Tam and Sascha Wiernik. Guillaume Kayacan’s design for JeanJass & Caballero’s ‘Double Hélice 3’ claimed the Marc Meulemans Award for best artwork, while Danga’s reshuffle of Kendrick Lamar’s ‘Big Shot’ struck gold as Best Remix.

Two weeks ago, we already announced Susobrino, Cellini and Sylvie Kreusch as this year’s Most Promising Artist. Tonight, they were invited to collect their awards on stage. The charming Sylvie Kreusch delivered with a thunderous live performance. Last but not least, the Lifetime Achievement Awards applaud some of the very best contributors to the Belgian nightlife scene over the past decades. Thierry Coppens, instigator of the incredibly long-running La Demence parties and co-founder of Fuse was praised for his rich career, just like Bart and Yves De Kegel, the two brothers behind Decadance - the legendary Ghent nightlife institution that had to close its doors the other week.